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Group work
 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 12:59 [#00200764]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Who here thinks compulsory group/team work is rubbish?

I find that far from having members with different skills,
you just get good/bad members. The bad members leach from
the others, diluting any benefit of the good member's work
and therefore making the better members less inclined to
work.

I'm talking about job/school/uni work here...

I suspect the teamworking craze in managment is all about
getting a little more work out of the drones by making the
good people work harder.


 

offline Xanatos from New York City (United States) on 2002-04-30 13:22 [#00200813]
Points: 3316 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Depends if you get to pick the members or not...

btw you look just like this kid from my school


 

offline Quernstone from Padova (Italy) on 2002-04-30 13:35 [#00200837]
Points: 1826 Status: Regular



I have some group work to do and it sucks because the rest
of the group are always away. ie I do all the work! Fuckers


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 13:40 [#00200846]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to Xanatos: #00200813 | Show recordbag



Ha ha, I must have a really common face, people say that all
the time.

No we didn't get to pick the teams and it sucks. Part of my
degree grade is based on the work of other people. This is
stupid.

Quernstone: Similair situation here...


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 13:42 [#00200847]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



Remind me what you're studying again Ceri.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 13:44 [#00200849]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Computing, we're doing a database for the Barry dental
practice, one of the other guys is doing his fair share of
the actual database, but I'm doing all the documnentation
and code annotation. And I've got other C/W for friday that
I haven't started yet.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 14:48 [#00200906]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



I'm still doing all the write up on my own in the labs.


 

offline Fernz from A Scottish Wanker (United Kingdom) on 2002-04-30 14:48 [#00200907]
Points: 1692 Status: Regular



Id rather work on my own man.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 14:53 [#00200909]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



I'll kill someone if I have to do groupwork in my final
year.

I don't like team sports either.


 

offline Fernz from A Scottish Wanker (United Kingdom) on 2002-04-30 14:55 [#00200911]
Points: 1692 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00200909



Aaagh... team sports...


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 14:57 [#00200915]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Either you're stuck with a bunch of spanners who can't
run/pass or you're the one who lets the team down. Bad
either way. And if you win, the glory of your achievement is
diluted.

I think the same theory applies to communism...


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 15:03 [#00200926]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



Yeah Ceri, cos that's why the corporate execs and
shareholders do all the work and so get all the reward! We
just get the scraps from their table while idley watching
them do the hard graft, pah!


 

offline Fernz from A Scottish Wanker (United Kingdom) on 2002-04-30 15:06 [#00200933]
Points: 1692 Status: Regular | Followup to Ceri JC: #00200915



Dont get me started on communism man... ;)


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 15:08 [#00200936]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to jonesy: #00200926 | Show recordbag



I mean small scale communism, e.g. a shared house. I clean a
lot, the others make it dirty, I lose my will to clean (as
it always gets dirty), so it's dirty all the time.

I think we need a new fascism where there is a system where
wages are measured by your value to the state and what you
actually do. For example, a councillor would earn about as
much as a secretary, whereas an architect would earn more.

Sorry to have turned this into a communism debate again, but
groupwork is enough to convince me that communism doesn't
work- people get lazy as they get no direct benefit from
their work...



 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 15:12 [#00200944]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



I get a shit wage, little/no status and have a tedious job
so why do I work and not just laze about. I reject the
system's values so why would I work?


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 15:14 [#00200948]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to jonesy: #00200944 | Show recordbag



You're admin right?
Under my system you'd get more money as you perform an
"essential" function.

Not trying to win you up, but why don't you change jobs if
it's so bad? I've been in some awful jobs before so I just
got a different job...


 

offline Quernstone from Padova (Italy) on 2002-04-30 15:16 [#00200951]
Points: 1826 Status: Regular



i'm doing computing too. My seminar is about data hadling
and it consequences on society. It is interesting stuff but
I get fucked off that I have to do all the research. I enjoy
it as I dig it but hey. We all have to pull our weight.

HAng in there Ceri. We'll make it through this course if it
is the last thing we do!


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 15:17 [#00200953]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



Teamwork/groupwork call it what you will, is just something
that you have to get on with. I think it is a very important
aspect of university work. It teaches you to get on with
people in a group. Obviously the stronger members of the
group will tend to take more of a leadership role, but it is
all preparation for when you are out there in the 'real'
world.

In all walks of life you are going to have team members who
'leach' off others. I think that the end result or 'project'
that you are doing is not some much important for what it
is, but more so, the coordination of the group into actually
achiving something as a 'team'. It is often the case,
however that the stronger team members need to be
'responsible' for the others, in making them aware of their
lack of input - very much so as it is in the 'real' world.

So, think of it as an 'exercise' in life skills - that's all
they're preparing you for. How to deal with people.


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 15:24 [#00200960]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



My own personal opinion of students who come out of
universities with computing degrees in recent years, may
have the 'know how' but lack the communication skills to
deliver what they have learnt!

(No offense to anyone here!)


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 15:25 [#00200963]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



What do you define as an essential function? A builder has
one of the most esential functions in our society yet a city
banker who produces nothing gets a large share of what is
produced by the builder via the building company.


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 15:27 [#00200965]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



There are one or two people who I work with, who are
'experts' in their field, but because they cannot
communicate with people, because they lack the 'people
skills' there are not very effective in carrying out their
duties. If all these people are gonna do is just sit in an
office and programme code then that's fair enough.


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 15:30 [#00200972]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker | Followup to jonesy: #00200963



I see what you mean Jonesy, but if I had my own company
(from scratch) of which I then employed people to run, and
we made enough profit - I could sit back and 'reep' the
benefits of my company couldn't i?


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 15:32 [#00200979]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



...anyway, as a team-member myself I gotta go and do
something constructive myself to keep the 'leaches' in there
places!


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 15:33 [#00200982]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



You could and it would make complete sense. The only problem
is (I assume) you're like me and don't have the capital
necessary to set up your business. This is the crux of
Marxism. We don't have property/capital and so are forced to
sell our labour power to those who do. This is the basis of
exploitation and the reason I loathe capitalism.

I don't mean to sound like a twat but my freedom is
inhibited by this class structure and my ability to develop
myself more fully is blocked because I have to work here.
Its not only about a disparity in wages but also a disparity
in power. I have no power.


 

offline Quernstone from Padova (Italy) on 2002-04-30 15:34 [#00200984]
Points: 1826 Status: Regular



I am doing my course part-time so me and my other group
members are in fact already professsional people, who should
by rights know what "the real world" is all about. In fact
one of them has a 'top end job'. People are lazy basically,
whether you are 19 or 46 years old.


 

offline xlr from Boston (United States) on 2002-04-30 15:35 [#00200988]
Points: 4904 Status: Regular



I've found that at university, people contribute much more
when working as a group. The biggest problem I have is too
much distraction, you talk so much that you never actually
get anything done hehe.
I know one of my friends here has to work on a 30page
research paper for Intro to Mass Media, but it's not that
bad because he's working with 7 other people, and each
person does however many pages. There's still individual
responsiblity.


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 15:37 [#00200991]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



The lazy are those at the top of our society who reap the
benefits we produce. When people of our class get lazy its
because they're smart. If you work hard for somebody who is
the sole beneficiary of your efforts you are a fool or you
have no choice.

The harder you work the poorer you become because the richer
your exploiter becomes. The more you produce; the more he
retains and the less you recieve.


 

offline Quernstone from Padova (Italy) on 2002-04-30 15:42 [#00201000]
Points: 1826 Status: Regular



I'm with you there Jonsey. As we speak I am saving my money
to start a business( no breakfast and only a sandwich for
lunch). I hope to break the mold somehow. If I become a boss
I will start a partneship which allows people to buy into
the managment in a mortgage kind of way. I want to reward
people for their efforts. A bit like John Lewis. In fact I
have so much repect for them. Why hasn't the JL model caught
on elsewhere?


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 15:45 [#00201005]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



The problem comes when there is a slump in the market and
you enter into fierce competition with your rivals. When a
slump forces you to either take a cut in profits or a cut in
wages you will have to sack some of the workforce and cut
their wages. That is the logic of capitalism. Profit is the
objective every time and bollocks to humanity, the
environment and progress.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 16:16 [#00201032]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to jonesy: #00201005 | Show recordbag



And at some stage, no matter how good your company is,
you'll be undercut/bought out by another company simply
because they're morally bankrupt enough to do something
you're not prepared to do in order to be able to make more
profits/deliver at a lower price.

I loathe the extreme capitalism as much as I disapprove of
communism. I think we need some sytem that falls in the
middle...


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 16:21 [#00201040]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



Ah, and so we come to Blair's Third Way. Capitalism can and
will not be restrained; there are no half measures. Even
right wing economists look to Marx and his analysis of
capitalism because they know its value.

Its nothing to do with morals. Capitalists will always go
after the profits on offer regardless; hence wars and state
repression.

To paraphrase the great German revolutionary Rosa
Luxembourg: We are faced with a choice; either socialism or
barbarism. And if you look around you can see the barbarity
of the system.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 16:23 [#00201046]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Followup to jonesy: #00201040 | Show recordbag



"Its nothing to do with morals. Capitalists will always go
after the profits on offer regardless; hence wars and state

repression."

I agree to an extent, for the kind of pathological
personality needed to succeed in business at an
international level this is certainly true.

However, I'd say that I'm a capitalist and I wouldn't do
stuff like nestle and US companies do re: food patents in
3rd world countries.



 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-04-30 16:28 [#00201057]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00201046



Yes but most don't have such scruples when the almighty
dollar is waving at them. The problem is that we have no
democratic control over the corporations, or in fact the
state, hence the work you do with your Christian
organisation.

I'm not for state capitalism/Soviet communism. I'm for true
democracy and worker's ownership and control of the means to
produce what we need. How anyone could raise objections
(other than the rich) to such a project I find eternally
baffling.


 

offline Ceri JC from Jefferson City (United States) on 2002-04-30 17:53 [#00201128]
Points: 23533 Status: Moderator | Show recordbag



Finishing the last few bits of the groupwork project
concerned, one other person helped, but the other 2 were so
inept that if they stayed I'd have wasted more time teaching
than doing stuff. I'm in lectures till 8 then it looks like
I've got another 2 hours work on this project before my time
is my own. 9-5 types have it easy.


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 18:05 [#00201144]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00201128



Poor Ceri! So much work and so little time!

;)

I'm sure you'll cope! Sometime you have to do the honorable
thing, and carry the team! It's called 'dedication' !


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 18:11 [#00201148]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker | Followup to Ceri JC: #00201128



You think '9-5s' have it easy!!

For those 'dedicated' enough, like myself, it doesn't end at
5 o'clock....I find myself working in the evenings producing
handouts and presentations....I find I don't have the time
for it in the daytime. Some '9-5ers' do have it easy, but
that depends entirely on the function they play within the
organisation. If they just have a clerks job sat at a desk
then yes you are right, but to make a generalisation like
that is wrong!

Just you wait till June matey!!!! Ha ha ha ha ! ! ! The
real world will be waiting for you, with sharp fangs - you
have no concept of how easy you have it!!!


 

offline Jedi Chris on 2002-04-30 18:15 [#00201154]
Points: 11496 Status: Lurker



And speaking as a '9-5 type' I'm now off to teach my
nightclass shortly at 7-9pm for my sins! (One of the three
I do each week!)

*sighs*
"Just think of the cash $$$" I say to myself!!


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-05-01 10:43 [#00202310]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



Yeah but poor old Ceri speand all his time on here instead
of doing his work the naughty boy.


 

offline Fernz from A Scottish Wanker (United Kingdom) on 2002-05-01 10:45 [#00202313]
Points: 1692 Status: Regular | Followup to jonesy: #00202310



Dont we all...?


 

offline jonesy from Lisboa (Portugal) on 2002-05-01 10:47 [#00202314]
Points: 6650 Status: Lurker



No. I work really hard here and always do my best at my job.
Ahem.


 

offline Quernstone from Padova (Italy) on 2002-05-01 10:55 [#00202324]
Points: 1826 Status: Regular



Yeah me too. "Work hard, play hard". That is my philosophy.

(have you ever noticed it it always complete wankers who say
this kind of thing. Urhghh I wretch whenever I hear that
sentence)


 


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